Template:Wp-Freilassing-History

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As proved by excavations the area was already settled in the Neolithic times. Celts and later Romans established permanent settlements. First mentioned 885 in a Carolingian document, the peasant village named Salzburghofen was given to the archbishop of Salzburg by king Louis IV in 908. After the Napoleonic Wars in 1816, the border between Bavaria and Austria was drawn along the rivers Saalach and Salzach, and Salzburghofen became part of Bavaria. The railway line connecting Munich and Salzburg (and further on to Vienna) changed the appearance of the village significantly. First, the railway company paid good prices for the land of the farmers. Second, many jobs were created, more than 1,000 in the 1970s.

In 1923, the name of the village was changed to Freilassing. Since the railway was of strategic interest and was also used by top Nazis on their way to Berchtesgaden during the war, Freilassing became a target for the Allied forces. In addition a depot of the Wehrmacht (the German army) was situated close to the station. On April 25, 1945, only a few days before the end of World War II, British and American bombers destroyed Freilassing almost completely.

Due to the expulsion of many Germans out of the eastern territories, the population of Freilassing grew and reached 7,700 in 1952. Thus Freilassing became "Stadt" (city) in 1954. Since then, the population has doubled.